We Will Hold The Line
by Hime Shinra
Summary: Inspired from Malukah's "Reignite" Mass Effect 3 tribute song. Basically, this is about the player meeting an exhausted and disappointed Commander Shepard... Written for "Operation Letter Tsunami". PS: please forgive my grammar mistakes :


We Will Hold The Line

It's dark in here.

There's nothing to see here.

And I'm completely alone.

And Yet… I'm not scared at all.

Where the hell am I?

I looked around, and saw a figure standing a bit far from me. Not knowing what else to do in this complete darkness, I quickly approached the person.

"Hello there." the figure greeted in a deep, calm tone. Judging by his voice, it's clear that he's a man. I think I heard his voice from somewhere, but I don't know when and where.

As I came closer, the man's figure becomes clearer in my eyes. He is taller than me, looks around 30 years old, and judging by his proportions and the clothes he wear, I reckon that he's a military man.

"Hello, sir." I greeted back politely. Hmm, he seems nice. He looked familiar – I know I never met him in person before, but I know him. I know him! Before my brain could think anything else, I quickly blurted out his name,

"Commander Shepard?"

He nodded. And then he smiled at me. A warm smile. I couldn't help but smile back, trying to hold my excited feeling. Like, oh my God! Commander Shepard! The greatest hero of all time, savior of the galaxy… standing right in front of me!

But… something's not right…

The smile on my face quickly faded as I saw his figure changing – his expression changed into somewhat scary and haunting, his battle scars becoming clearer, his old wounds reopened, and I can see that he's very exhausted – it's like… he's dying. And his clothes… his military uniform somehow has changed into something unrecognizable, like it was burn to crisp… like in that ending scene. That horrific ending scene in Mass Effect 3.

A slight anger went through my head as I remembered how much the ending of Mass Effect 3 disappointed me. But then, the anger quickly fade away when I saw him seemingly growing more and more exhausted. His eyes turning red – it's like… he's almost crying.

"Commander?"

"Did I made the wrong choice?" he asked.

My eyes widened in shock. "N-no! Of course not!"

"Then why is everyone mad? Why is everyone not happy by the choice I made? All I wanted was to save the galaxy from the reapers… and nobody seemed to be happy with the outcome… did I make the wrong choice?"

"No you didn't!" I cried, "I-it is us… the players… who made the choice. We… we simply guided you… Nobody's blaming you! It's not your fault!"

"But it was me who took the path in the catalyst. Therefore, it should be me to bear the consequences. All blames… should fall on me"

I was shocked hearing his statement. How could he blame himself for all this! This is not his fault! As I tried to gather the correct words in my brain, I see his figure starting to fade. Damn, I don't have any time to think. I have to stop him from fading. If he fades away, he will not appear again – I don't know where that thought came out, but I don't want him to disappear in guilt that he's not suppose to bare.

"No! Don't go!" I cried. This time, I jumped to him and gave him a hug. I was slightly shaken when I touched him – he feels very cold. And it felt awful. It's like… hugging a corpse. But at least he stops fading, for now.

"Why shouldn't I?" he asked again.

"Commander – you… the things that happened in the end… it's not your fault!"

"Then is it your fault? You and the millions out there who has been there with me since the beginning?"

"N-no! It's not their fault either! Not my fault too…"

"Then who?"

"It's… it's the people behind all this. It's their fault!"

His eyes widened in disbelief. "But- how could that be possible? I mean, those people, the ones behind this… they're the ones who made me and my crew… made us able to meet you and the millions out there. Without them, I wouldn't even be here-"

I couldn't think of any other words to say. But then, yes, it is their fault. After all, they're the ones who made the story. We, the one who was with him since the very beginning, are only taking the paths given by the ones behind this, and we choose what we think best. But what happened at the end… no matter what we do, no matter how hard we've fight for the 'right decision' since the very beginning… nothing can change that. It stays the same in the end. We are helpless against the Reapers. I always believe that there will be an ultimate solution to stop them, but the people behind this decided that the Reapers are too strong, and nothing except the disastrous ending can stop them. No – Commander Shepard didn't sacrifice himself. The people behind this… they murdered him. For the sake of the story. A bad story. Hell, he didn't deserve this – he deserved much better than this!

Suddenly, I felt his body is getting colder. I also realized that his breath is getting heavier. I feel scared. I feel like death is growing all over him, and it might reach me too. But no – I won't let that happen. Overcoming my fears, I tightened my grip around his body and hug him closer. I really wanted to let him go, I'm really scared, but I don't want him to die, or disappear. Even if he has to die, he does not deserve to die like this. Not in this situation.

"Listen, Commander. Stop blaming yourself. You've done enough. You've done your best. Me and the other millions out there… we are doing something. We will persuade the people behind this to fix what went wrong – we will fix this! We will hold the line! For you and your crew! For Everyone! Stay strong, Commander Shepard!"

Between heavy breaths, he asked, "But… what if it doesn't work? What if nothing's fixed in the end?"

"We… we will fight again! We won't stop! We don't want your story to end like this… please… not like this… But for now… just… close your eyes and rest. Don't worry. You've saved the galaxy, you've taught us many valuable lessons along your journey… now it's time for me and the other millions out there to save you!"

"Then… I leave the rest to you… and the other millions out there… for now. Please… hold the line."

And then he disappeared. But I somehow know that he didn't completely disappear in disappointment like he was meant to be – he won't disappear permanently – not now. He will return soon, to see whether we've done enough to fix whatever went wrong. We don't know yet, but we will hold the line, for now.

We will hold the line.


End file.
